Carrie Brownstein on Omaha Restaurants and Neverending Snacktime

Back of the Napkin, where inspired ideas meet the food-obsessed scribblings of the famous

Written at IFC headquarters in New York on March 7, 2012Photograph by Marcus Nilsson

Actor and musician Carrie Brownstein might be the unofficial cultural ambassador of Portland, Oregon, but she doesn’t actually spend much time in her hometown these days. The former Sleater-Kinney guitarist has become one of the busiest women in indie showbiz, as both half of the team behind IFC’s breakout sketch-comedy show Portlandia (alongside Fred Armisen) and a member of the indie supergroup Wild Flag. All this TV starring and guitar shredding equals a lot of time on the road. “I feel like touring is really one endless snack,” Brownstein says. When she does have time for a meal, she likes sniffing out local gems: “It’s kind of hard to find a city that doesn’t have good food anymore. I was recently in Omaha, Nebraska, which has great restaurants. At this point, with the research tools you have on your phone, it’s pretty easy to find the good ones.” In Portland, Pok Pok and Toro Bravo are two of her favorite spots. But what if she’s spending the night in? –Alexis Swerdloff

Brownstein performing with Wild Flag at the 2012 Coachella Valley Music & Arts FestivalPhotograph by John Shearer via Getty Images